Oil skimmer

ABSTRACT

A structure to be used in conjunction with a barge for skimming oil spilled on the surface of harbor waters, lakes and the like comprising one or two outriggers which can be partially positioned just below the surface of the oil and which have harvesting booms that converge at the rear joining a collector sump from which the oil and water can be pumped into the barge. The system may also include a means for separating the oil from the water and also for separating out large particles of debris which are frequently found floating in these waters. For use in situations where the body of water has a light-swell condition, the outriggers include flexible leading ends which will follow the contour of the water surface.

' United States Patent Tuttle 1541 OIL SKIMMER [72] Inventor: Ralph L.Tuttle, 7135 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Calif.

[22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1971 21 Appl. No. 115,416

52 us. 01. .Q ..210/242, 210/1310. '21

[51] Int. Cl. ..C02b 9/02 58] Field of Search ..210/83, 242, DIG. 21;61/1 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,237,774 3/1966Shuback ..2l0/242 61,880 2/1967 Serrell ..210/242 3,348,690 10/1967Cornelissen ..210/DIG. 21 3,268,081 8/1966 Menkee etal. ..210/2423,581,899 6/1971 Hunter ..210/242 3,590,584 7/1971 Fitzgerald ..61/1

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1/1 964 Great Britain ..2l0/242 308,9403/19'33 Italy ..210/242 Primary Examiner-Reuben Friedman AssistantExaminer-T. A. Granger Attorney-Lyon & Lyon [57] ABSTRACT A structure tobe used in conjunction with a barge for skimming oil spilled on thesurface of harbor waters, lakes and the like comprising one or twooutriggers which can be partially positioned just below the surface ofthe oil and which have harvesting booms that converge at the rearjoining a collector sump from which the oil and water can be pumped intothe barge. The system may also include a means for separating the oilfrom the water and also for separating out large particles of debriswhich are frequently found floating in these waters For use insituations where the body of water has a light-swell condition, theoutriggers include flexible leading ends which will follow the contourof the water surface.

7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDucm I372 3.701.430

SHEEI 1 OF 2 WW u INVENTOR. EALPH L. TUTTLE PATENTEDum 31 I972 SHEET 2UF 2 FNVENTOR. v ZMPH 4. 77/7726 BY v ArrazA/eys 1 on. SKIMMER Theproblem of the pollution of our coastal and inland watersis a seriousone, and particularly the pollution caused by the spillage of oil orsimilar substances such as may occur from the accidental collision ofoil tankers, or from accidents occuring around offshore drilling rigs,but also a great deal of pollutants are emitted in harbors and inlandwaters from the pumping of the ,bilges of large freighters and tankers,which bilge also includes a mixture of oil and water. While the majoroil spills are being cleaned up by the use of straw or peanut shells inorder to provide a sufficiently viscous vehicle so that the combinationof the oil and straw can be picked up and disposed of, such method doesnot provide aready means for rapidly cleaning up an oil spill andparticularly provides no means for recovering the oil.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 7 may be by settling or by using a high-speedoil/water separator, such as that shown in my pending patent applicationSer. No. 221,915 filed Jan. 31, 1972. Because some harbors or inland:waters also contain a certain amount of floating debris, the inventionalso includes means for collecting this floating debris and permanentlyremoving it from the water with side benefit of it also preventingclogging the sump area. The invention also provides means for not onlytilting the angle of the outriggers but for lowering them up and down soas to maintain their level just below the surface of the oil even thoughthe barge gradually fills with oil and therefore tends to sink lower inthe water. The oil skimmer can also be used in situations where there isa lightswell condition by the addition to the outriggersof flexibleleading edges supported by a bouyant body which will permit the skimmingoutriggers to follow the uneven water surface without missing thetroughs of the. swells or cutting through the tops. When that adapter isapplied to the outriggers, it is likely that the debris collecting netsmay not be useful since the separation of large floating particles willoccur at the front of the outriggers.

It is an object therefore of the present invention to provide a meansfor cleaning up oils slicks and spills by the provision of a bargehaving outriggers adapted to skim the oil from the surface and separateit from the water.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will becomereadily apparent upon reading the ensuing detailed description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a bargeequipped with outriggers according to the present invention. v

2 FIG. 2 is'a plan view of the barge with the outriggers in theirdownwardly extended position.

FIG. 3 is a view of the bow of the barge showing the outriggers in theirupward position.

FIG. -4 is a view of the bow of the barge with the outriggers in theirextended position.

FIG. 5 is a top detail view showing the means of mounting the outriggersto the barge.

' FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the detail shown in FIG. 5

FIG. 7. is a partial sectional elevation showing a modified form for thecollector sump.

FIG. 8 is apartial elevation showing a somewhat en- I DESCRIPTION OF THEINVENTION A barge generally designated 10 and having a pointed bow 12 isprovided with a plurality of guide rails 14 upon which are pivotallymounted the outriggers 16. The guide rails 14 are preferably of anI-beam type configuration as shown in FIG. 5 and the mounting meansincludes a bracket 18 in which are mounted a pair of rollers 20'bearingupon the inside surface of the I-beam so that the outriggers 16 may bepivoted upwardly as shown in FIG. 3 or lowered into a lateral orhorizontal position as shown in FIG. 4, the rollers permitting theinside edges of the outriggers to be positioned vertically with respectto the I water line as desired. 7

Each of the outriggers 16 consists of an outboard boom 24 and an inboardboom 22 to which the brackets 18 are secured. Booms 22 and 24 are eachelongated, preferably flat members, having their major longitudinaldimension oriented alongside the barge 10, the inboard boom 22 beingadapted to run parallel to the side of the barge, while outboard boom 24is angled inwardly toward the stern of the barge so that the boomsconverge toward the stern. Near the stern end of the outriggers 16 isprovided an enlarged sump area 26. Booms 22 and 24 are joined togetherby a flat bottom plate 28 and the forward end of the plate 28 is squaredoff laterally at 30. The outriggers are supported by lines 32 attachedto the outboard booms 24 and the lines 32 extend over pulleys 34 mountedupon standofi's 36 upon the barge and then to winches 38. When it isdesired to move the barge to an area for cleaning purposes, theoutriggers 16 are ordinarily lifted to their upraised position, as shownin FIG. 3, by taking in the lines 32 upon winches 38. In such position,there is minimum drag as the craft moves through the water. When thearea to be skimmed is reached, the lines 32 are paid out, lowering theoutriggers to the position shown in FIG. 4 for the purpose of skimming.It is desirable to lower the outriggers 16 to a position whereby thebottom plates 28 are just below the surface of the water 40. The bargeis then driven under its own power or towed through the water wherebythe outriggers will scoop up oil floating on the surface and the bow 12will deflect other floating oil into the openings ofthe outriggers andthe oil will converge as it moves stemwise in the trough formed by theoutriggers and will collect in the sumps 26. A pump 42 is mounted uponthe barge with intake pipes 44 extending over the sides and into thebottom of the sumps 26. Pump 42 will pick up primarily oil but also willtake some water with it. This will be pumped into a holding tankprovided in the barge, where the oil and water can be allowed toseparate, whereupon the oil now concentrated, can be pumped off the top.A more efficient system includes a separator coupled to pump 42, of atype which can rapidly separate the oil and water, such as the devicedescribed in my pending application, Ser. No. 221,915, previouslymentioned. Such device will separate water from the oil and eject it outof the outlet pipe 46 overboard and will pump clean oil into the holdingtank in the barge. As the pump runs and fills the barge with oil, or oilplus water, it is obvious that the barge will become heavier in thewater and will tend to ride lower in the water.

To accomodate the gradual sinking of the barge as it fills, the guiderails 14 permit the inboard portion of the outriggers 16 to bepositioned upwardly or downwardly so that they can be maintained justbelow the water-oil interface to minimize the amount of water collected.In order to affix the inboard ends of the outriggers, there are a numberof systems which may be used to properly orient the outriggers. In oneembodiment, a rod 48 is temporarily affixed to a clevis 50 by means of apin 51 and the upper portion of rod 48 is provided with a plurality ofspaced apertures 49. The upper end of rod 48 passes through abracket 52having an aperture through which is inserted a pin 54. It will beobvious that the vertical location of the outrigger can be easilyadjusted by the insertion of the pin 54 through any one of the apertures49 and, of course, the orientation of the outriggers can be adjusted tokeep the bottom plates horizontal by use of the winches 38 and lines 32affixed to the outboard booms 24. When it is desired to pull theoutriggers into their upwardly raised position, it may be necessary todisassemble the positioning rods 48 whereupon pin 51 may be extractedfrom the clevis 50 for that purpose.

The use of the outriggers 16 with the squared off ends 30 would beeasiest in the skimming of inland waters or harbors where the watersurface is relatively smooth. It is anticipated that such waters arefrequently laden with floating debris such as papers, bottles and canswhich should be prevented from entering the col lecting sumps 26. It isalso an advantage to remove such floating debris from the waters and forthat purpose the outriggers may be provided with collecting nets 56. Theinboard ends of the nets 56 are connected at 58 to the gunwale of thebarge and the other end is connected to line 60 which extends over apulley 62 to a winch 64. A

' pair of guide wires 66 are attached to the outboard railing 24 and tothe supporting bar 67 which supports pulley 62. The outer edge of thenet 56 is provided at the outer corners with a pair of slip rings (notshown) which pass around the guide wires 66. A container 68 is providedinside the barge as shown in FIG. 2. Thus,

when debris is collected in he net 56, the net is pulled stemmostportion of sump 26 which will help permit the expulsion of collectedwater which will naturally tend to flow toward the bottom of the sump.

Another attachment can be provided for the outriggers 16 for using theoil skimmer in somewhat rougher water. This attachment constitutes aflexible member 70 the leading edge of which may converge outwardly asshown in FIG. 2. Member 70 is attached to the ends 30 of the outrigger,to the bottom plate 28 thereof. Beneath the flexible member 70 ismounted a supporting frame or grid 72 having longitudinal fingers 73 anda lateral member 74. These members 73 and 74 are rigidly affixed tobottom plate 28 but do not extend out the entire length of member 70 sothat member 70 is still free to flex downwardly at its outer edge. Theforwardmost edge of member 70 is attached to a float 76 which extendsparallel to the front surface of member 70 but is supported above thatsurface a short distance, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8. In this manner, thebouyant member 76 controls the approximate position of the leading edgeof flexible member 70 so that it will remain slightly below the surfaceof the water and will follow the uneven surface of the water as thecraft goes through swells and troughs. In this manner, the outriggerwill more or lessfollow the surface of the water as far as its leadingedge is concerned and will not take in large quantities of water whenthe outrigger goes through the crest of a swell, and likewise will notmiss oil floating on the surface in the troughs between swells. When thebouyant members 76 is in position, it is obvious that any floatingdebris or trash Will not pass into the trough formed by the outrigger 16so that the trash net 56 will not be used at such times.

While a specific embodiment of the present invention has been shown anddescribed, together with various alterations and modifications thereof,it will be obvious to those persons skilled in the art that otherchanges andmodifications might be made. Fox example, it is equallycontemplated that one outrigger may be utilized in favor of the twoshown in the drawings. In such instances, it is contemplated that theforward extent of the outrigger would be greater than shown and the bowof the craft may be slanted entirely to one side, opposed to the outwardangle of the edge of the outrigger so that the craft would divert all ofthe surface oil into the opening of the outrigger.

I claim: 1. An oil skimming apparatus, the combination comprising:

a barge, said barge have an holding tank; at least one outrigger meansmovably mounted along a side of said barge, said outrigger meanscomprising a pair of longitudinal flat booms having their majorlongitudinal dimension oriented alongside and in substantially the samedirection as the sides of said barge,'the minor transverse dimension ofeach said boom being oriented substantially vertically to the surface ofthe body of water in which said barge is situated, a substantially flatbottom plate joining said booms in spaced apart relationship, saidbottom plate having a wide end and a narrow end, the wide end thereofbeing situated near the bow of said barge whereby said booms convergetoward one another near the stern thereof, an enlarged sump portionformed in said bottom plate at the sternmost end thereof between saidbooms;

mounting means for movably affixing each said outrigger to said barge,said mounting means in cluding means for vertically positioning eachsaid outrigger with respect to said surface, and pivotal means forpivotally lifting said outrigger up and away from said surface, saidmounting means further including supporting means coupled to saidoutrigger means for supporting said outrigger means in an upraisedposition or in a lowered position whereby said bottom plate may besubstantially parallel to said liquid level; and

. pump means mounted upon said barge, said pump means having an intakeconduit positioned in said sump, said pump means having an outletthereof communicating with said holding tank.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting meansincludes a plurality of substantially vertically oriented guide railsaffixed to the side of said barge, a plurality of roller means affixedto the inboard side of said outrigger, said roller means each engagingeach of said guide rails, positioning means affixed to the inboard sidesof said outrigger and to said barge for vertically adjusting theposition'of the inboard edge of said outrigger with respect to saidsurface; and

said supporting means including a plurality of lines affixed to theoutboard edge of each said outrigger, each of said lines being coupledto adjusting means for adjusting the length thereof so as to supportsaid outrigger whereby the bottom plate thereof may be positionedsubstantially parallel to said surface or whereby said outrigger may bepivotally moved to an upraised position.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said pump means includesseparator means for separating oil from water, said separator having awater outlet directed overboard, the aforesaid pump outlet being an oiloutlet communicating with said holding tank.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 said outrigger means furtherincludes a flexible leading edge member fastened to the bottom platethereof, said leading edge extending forward of said outrigger means,bouyant means secured to the forwardmost edge of said flexible member,said bouyant means being spaced above the forwardmost edge whereby saidedge will be positioned beneath the water when said bouyant means isfloating thereon.

5. The apparatus set forthin claim 4, further including a rigid framesecured to the leading edge of said outrigger means and extendingpartially beneath said flexible member whereby downward movement of saidflexible member is limited.

' 6. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein said sump is providedwith a plurality of apertures in the bottom thereof.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 further includ ing means mountedupon said barge and secured to said outrigger for collecting floating:debris, said means comprising a container situated on said barge, a nethaving one end secured to the outboard edge of said container, the otherend of said net being removably secured to the outboard rail of saidoutrigger, said net being of sufficient length to be draped along thebottom of said outn' er and me s ecured to the outboard end of said $1;for gathefi g in said net to dump the contents thereof into saidcontainer.

1. An oil skimming apparatus, the combination comprising: a barge, saidbarge have an holding tank; at least one outrigger means movably mountedalong a side of said barge, said outrigger means comprising a pair oflongitudinal flat booms having their major longitudinal dimensionoriented alongside and in substantially the same direction as the sidesof said barge, the minor transverse dimension of each said boom beingoriented substantially vertically to the surface of the body of water inwhich said barge is situated, a substantially flat bottom plate joiningsaid booms in spaced apart relationship, said bottom plate having a wideend and a narrow end, the wide end thereof being situated near the bowof said barge whereby said booms converge toward one another near thestern thereof, an enlarged sump portion formed in said bottom plate atthe sternmost end thereof between said booms; mounting means for movablyaffixing each said outrigger to said barge, said mounting meansincluding means for vertically positioning each said outrigger withrespect to said surface, and pivotal means for pivotally lifting saidoutrigger up and away from said surface, said mounting means furtherincluding supporting means coupled to said outrigger means forsupporting said outrigger means in an upraised position or in a loweredposition whereby said bottom plate may be substantially parallel to saidliquid level; and pump means mounted upon said barge, said pump meanshaving an intake conduit positioned in said sump, said pump means havingan outlet thereof communicating with said holding tank.
 2. The apparatusset forth in claim 1 wherein said mounting means includes a plurality ofsubstantially vertically oriented guide rails affixed to the side ofsaid barge, a plurality of roller means affixed to the inboard side ofsaid outrigger, said roller means each engaging each of said guiderails, positioning means affixed to the inboard sides of said outriggerand to said barge for vertically adjusting the position of the inboardedge of said outrigger with respect to said surface; and said supportingmeans including a plurality of lines affixed to the outboard edge ofeach said outrigger, each of said lines being coupled to adjusting meansfor adjusting the length thereof so as to support said outrigger wherebythe bottom plate thereof may be positioned substantially parallel tosaid surface or whereby said outrigger may be pivotally moved to anupraised position.
 3. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein saidpump means includes separator means for separating oil from water, saidseparator having a water outlet directed overboard, the aforesaid pumpoutlet being an oil outlet communicating with said holding tank.
 4. Theapparatus set forth in claim 1 said outrigger means further includes aflexible leading edge member fastened to the bottom plate thereof, saidleading edge extending forward of said outrigger means, bouyant meanssecured to the forwardmost edge of said flexible member, said bouyantmeans being spaced above the forwardmost edge whereby said edge will bepositioned beneath the water when said bouyant means is floatingthereon.
 5. The apparatus set forth in claim 4, further including arigid frame secured to the leading edge of said outrigger means andextending partially beneath said flexible member whereby downwardmovement of said flexible member is limited.
 6. The apparatus set forthin claim 1 wherein said sump is provided with a plurality of aperturesin the bottom thereof.
 7. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 furtherincluding means mounted upon said barge and secured to said outriggerfor collecting floating debris, said means comprising a containersituated on said barge, a net having one end secured to the outboardedge of said container, the other end of said net being removablysecured to the outboard rail of said outrigger, said net being ofsufficient length to be draped along the bottom of said outrigger, andmeans secured to the outboard end of said net for gathering in said netto dump the contents thereof into said container.